Charlottesville:
A Response from the Sensory Awareness Foundation

Dear Friends of Sensory Awareness,

“Once there is seeing, there must be action.” Charlotte Selver frequently cited these words by the Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. And often Charlotte added that if the practice of Sensory Awareness does not have any consequences in the way we live and act in the world, it is worthless.
We all saw what happened in Charlottesville a couple of weeks ago. Racism blatantly reared its head, emboldened by a toxic political climate of division, which encourages the lowliest of human impulses.

In the face of the violence in Charlottesville and the murder of Heather Heyer, we stand firmly with all victims of white supremacy. Our hearts go out to her family and especially to Susan Bro, Heather’s very courageous mother, and to all victims of racism in its varied forms, in Charlottesville and elsewhere. We hold free speech in high regard but we cannot condone the spreading of Nazi sentiments, whether they be screamed by marching torchbearers or cloaked in suit and tie. Read on ...

Every movement brings us in touch with gravity, this force that reminds us of another great presence, that of the earth. We might call gravity earth's invitation to arrive, to be part of a living world in which every gesture has a potential to connect us.

In our culture gravity is often seen as a force against which we have to fight all life long. I sometimes wonder if this view is a result of our disturbed relationship with the earth. How could the very force that enables life to take form be something we have to fight? And yet we find ourselves often living just like that. We do not respond to the call of gravity with respect, that is with presence, but drag ourselves around - hang in there, as the saying goes.

This is when we need to remember the gifts of Sensory Awareness the most. In a way it does not take much. It is all there already, we just have to remember, we just have to open to what is already at our finger (and toe!) tips. There is a world that is present, the earth tugging on our limbs, shoulders - everywhere. Can we respond?

What sounds so simple is often not easy. Habits weigh heavily and all kinds of perceived demands seem to keep us from what we yearn for so much. This is why I love to offer this work. It gives us space in which we can reconnect in playful and deep ways with all that is already there. We step out of our ordinary lives and come together, to practice, to remember, to regain strength.

Stefan Laeng-Gilliatt

reclaiming vitality and presenceSENSORY AWARENESS AS A PRACTICE FOR LIFE The Teachings of Charlotte Selver and Charles V.W. BrooksForeword by Norman Fischer
Edited by Richard Lowe and Stefan Laeng-Gilliatt
North Atlantic Books, $19.95